| 1 | 1 | | 83R5798 JGH-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Kleinschmidt H.C.R. No. 62 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, In the autumn of 1835, the citizens of Gonzales |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | bravely defied the authority of the Mexican government and, by |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | their action, set Texas on an irrevocable course toward |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | independence; and |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Established in 1825 near the confluence of the San |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers, Gonzales was the westernmost Anglo |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | settlement in Texas at the time; in 1831, the Mexican government |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | loaned the town a six-pounder cannon for protection against |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Indians, but four years later, as tensions grew between Texans and |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | the Mexican government, the military commander at San Antonio de |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | Bexar, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, sent a corporal and five |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | soldiers to retrieve the cannon; the residents of Gonzales refused |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | to return it and took the soldiers prisoner; and |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, On September 27, 1835, Colonel Ugartechea sent |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Lieutenant Francisco de Castaneda and 100 dragoons to take back the |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | cannon; when Lieutenant Castaneda arrived on the west bank of the |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | Guadalupe, his forces were denied passage across the river by 18 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | Texan militiamen; more Texans arrived over the next several days, |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | and at sundown on October 1, Lieutenant Castaneda moved his men to |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | another camp upriver; that same night, the Texans crossed to the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | west side of the river with their cannon and followed him; and |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Early on the morning of October 2, the Texans |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | launched a surprise attack on the Mexican forces; during a lull in |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | the fighting, Lieutenant Castaneda and a party of Texans led by John |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | Henry Moore met for a parley in the middle of the battlefield; when |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | Lieutenant Castaneda asked for the return of the cannon, the Texans |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | gestured to the weapon 200 yards behind them and said, "There it is, |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | come and take it"; when fighting resumed, the cannon was fired, |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | killing one of Lieutenant Castaneda's men, and the Mexicans |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | withdrew; and |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, With this fateful encounter, the Texas Revolution |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | began; Gonzales became known as the "Lexington of Texas," and a |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | banner fashioned from a silk wedding dress by the women of the town, |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | which featured the defiant slogan "Come and Take It!" and an image |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | of the cannon, became the first Texas battle flag used in the |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | conflict; and |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | WHEREAS, Today, the citizens of Gonzales continue to honor |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | their community's important role in the struggle for independence |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | with their three-day "Come and Take It" festival every October, and |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | this important date in the history of the Lone Star State is truly |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | deserving of special recognition; now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | hereby designate October 2 as "Come and Take It" Day; and, be it |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | further |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remains in effect |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is passed. |
|---|